Oilers sign Dmitri Samorukov to a three-year ELC

The Oilers announced today that they have signed 2017 third-round pick (84th overall), Dmitri Samorukov, to a three-year ELC.

Last year, the 6’2, 180-pound defenceman made his North American debut, appearing in 67 games with the Guelph Storm in the OHL and registered 20 points (4G, 16A). In recent years, Samorukov has represented Russia at the World Under-18 Hockey Champions (twice) as well as the World Under-17 Challenge. His most recent stint with team Russian came during the Ivan Hlinka Memorial Tournament in 2016 where he put up two assists and 16 PIMs in five games played.

Samorukov will also be attending the Young Stars Classic in Penticton later this week after making his organizational debut at the 2017 Development Camp a few weeks back in Jasper. Now that he’s got a fresh three-year deal in his pocket, Samorukov instantly becomes a prospect of note and one worth watching as he climbs the pro hockey ladder.

WHO IS HE?

Now that we have a new scratch ticket to look forward to, I wanted to find out just who the hell we’re talking about here.

Up and down year for Samorukov. Started off the year very well, but really hit a wall through the middle of the season, up until the final couple of months. Then he finished the year exceptionally well, including a very strong performance for Russia at the U18’s. This is the type of inconsistency I was talking about in Adam Ruzicka’s write up. When he’s off, Samorukov looks lost on the ice. Turnovers a plenty and a lot of puck chasing defensively. A lot of that can be attributed to the team he played on this year in Guelph though, who struggled as a team with turnovers and consistency in effort. But when he was on, which was the vast majority of the second half, he looked like a legitimate NHL prospect. Samorukov is an excellent skater who showcases a great ability as a puck rusher. But he also has a big point shot, which he was able to really improve the accuracy of later in the year. Defensively, I really like his intensity. Sure, he runs around a little too much sometimes. And sure, his reads could use some work. But, he plays the game hard in his own end and really makes opposing forwards keep their heads up. There’s a lot of potential to develop into a quality two-way defender with Samorukov IMO, and as such I think he’s really worked himself back into the conversation as a 2nd round pick come June.

Samorukov has immense skill, but his game is very inconsistent and there are some issues to work on. If he is able to develop better shot accuracy, he could be a very valuable asset on the power play. Samorukov must also learn to pick his spots to push offense five on five, and work on his defensive game. If he can get that under control he could be a top pairing defenceman. Dmitry Samorukov is a real boom-or-bust prospect. In terms of a comparison, his game is reminiscent of Dion Phaneuf of the Ottawa Senators. This is a style comparison only though, and not a talent based one.